Everybody says content is king when it comes to digital marketing. It is used for reaching your audience, nurturing leads down the sales funnel, building authority in your industry, and pretty much everything else that has something to do with your online presence. However, one of the most important roles of content is generating conversions and getting you paid.
However, you just can’t outsource or produce subpar pieces without developing a content strategy. Remember that each content must be a masterpiece and will prove to be valuable to you and your target audience. Just bear in mind that your brand’s image is on the line with every content you publish. Without further ado, here are four of the crucial components of great web content that converts:
Integrity
Behind every online conversion lies a certain degree of trust between the website and its audience. This is why you should aim to build trust-driven content that will increase your audience’s confidence when dealing with your brand. You can do this by double-checking your facts, linking out to trustworthy sources (government websites, industry websites, and others), and providing updated information.
Additionally, remember that the online community’s trust is hard to earn. People are now smart, and they simply won’t believe you if you sound too sales. This is why you should always present products in all angles. For example, if you are in affiliate marketing, you need to be unbiased and aim to provide authentic information to your audience, even if it means exposing some of the cons of the product. An example is this Bluehost review at Colorlib.
Quality
In addition to being authentic, your content must be valuable, well-detailed, and polished. Nobody appreciates fluff, and everybody is quick to point out the simplest grammatical or typographical errors. This is why you need to employ strict editorial standards that will guarantee a meaningful experience to your audience.
Moreover, you do not always have to rely on visual content such as infographics and videos. While these content types can maximize engagement, nothing can build your credibility more than a well-written, in-depth and highly informative article.
For example, take a look at the content available in A List Apart. Notice how the thought of each piece flows smoothly and naturally. It goes to show that, in the right hands, words alone can go a long way regarding audience engagement.
Formatting
In addition to quality, written content must be well-formatted to improve readability and the reader’s overall experience. This is critical if you need to include technical or in-depth details that can be boring and draggy when crammed together in long paragraphs. For example, you can utilize subheadings, bulleted lists, bold/italics and other formatting options to make it easier for readers to absorb vital information. It will also make it easier for them to look for the specific information they need.
You can find great examples of posts with excellent formatting in Neil Patel’s blog. Notice that he manages to keep the content interesting using formatting styles and a couple of visual elements despite tackling complicated marketing topics. Also, notice how the quality and organization of each post remains consistent even though they are always packed with in-depth information.
Social Proof
Nothing screams authority more than having a number of shares, likes, and comments displayed in your content. This increases the readers’ trust and confidence with any information you provide – riding them all the way to conversion. However, building a large social media following and generating this form of social proof takes time. It also requires an arsenal of promotion strategies that can push your content to major social networks.
To help you get started, here’s a list of great ideas that can stir up interest and engagement in your content. Also, remember that, apart from social media metrics, you should also learn how to leverage other forms of social proof. This includes an expert’s blog featuring your product, positive user reviews, and other types of user-generated content.
Conclusion
For a lot of digital marketers, great content is the missing key to unlocking a website’s profitability. This must be trust-driven, polished, informative, and easy to read. Moreover, although the content is king, don’t forget that distribution is queen in online marketing. This is why you should also review other facets of your marketing strategy that affect conversions such as your lead acquisition strategy, keyword targeting, and so on.
Originally posted on June 3, 2016 @ 10:49 am
